Research

Energy balance

Intentional weight loss via caloric restriction in obese elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with improvements in global cognition, verbal memory, executive function, and language.

If you are an older adult with obesity and mild memory issues, working with a nutritionist to create a moderate calorie deficit (around 500 calories less per day) can help improve your thinking skills and memory. This approach is safe and does not necessarily cause muscle loss if you maintain your usual physical activity levels.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Intentional weight loss through diet was associated with cognitive improvement in patients with MCI.
Nídia Celeste Horie et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2015

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial design, though the active intervention group showed similar weight loss to control, leading to a pooled analysis.

Source

Cognitive Effects of Intentional Weight Loss in Elderly Obese Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Nídia Celeste Horie et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2015

DOI 10.1210/jc.2015-2315

rct · n=80Cited 166×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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